Friday, September 23, 2011

Days of the Week

by KJ Howe

Have you ever wondered where the names came from for the days of the week? I find the origins of these accepted standards intriguing, and I hope you will as well. Who decided on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as the names of our 24-hour days of the week--and why?

The names of the days of the week from the Roman period have been both named after the seven planets of astronomy and numbered, with Sunday as the beginning. In Slavic languages, a numbering system was adopted, but it began with Monday. An even older tradition of names in Ancient Indian Astrology could arguably be the origin of all these naming systems. Still, these systems have been accepted in countless languages, with a few exceptions resulting from a number of religious and secular considerations.

In English, we call our days of the week after Saxon gods, apart from Saturday. The French call their days of the week after Roman gods. But the Saxon and Roman gods who look after the same day are the same type of god. The table below shows the various names used in the different languages. The Roman months were the same as ours, but our weeks were not. The Romans had eight days in their week, with a market day instead of a weekend, so they didn't use these names. I'm sure many of us wish we had an eighth day in our week. If so, what would you name it? How would you spend the time? What is your favorite day of the week and why? The best answer to these questions will win a $10 Barnes and Noble gift certificate.

48 comments:

Woohoo - Hope the GR brings some Tim Tams from Australia when he comes back here.

KJ- Is there a God of Sleep? That's what I'd do with my extra day LOL.

I was looking at the book The Secret Language of Birthdays and it says my birthday (and therefore me) is governed by Venus - so I guess that makes Friday my special day. No wonder I love Fridays so much! Woohoo!

I want to call it Playday! It would be a day you could do whatever you wanted to do.If it was reading then you would spend the whole day reading. If you would want to spend it with family that would be fine too. Do what you want to do day.

I really don't know what i would call the extra day but i do know that i will use it to just lounge back and relax. Do what ever that strikes the mood. Weekends are spent working, Saturdays are spent doing chores so that leaves only Sundays to relax, i would love an extra day to do that. I love Fridays because maybe i was born on a Friday and it proved really lucky for me.

If so, what would you name it? Justday, a day to do just what you want to do and nothing else.

How would you spend the time? Reading, no housework allowed, dinner would come from the freezer.Like Sonali said the weekends are for catching up on everything that didn't get done through the week.I work four 10 hour days so I do have an extra day off, unfortunately that doesn't help me as I get nothing done through the week at all. It becomes a work at home day just like Saturday and Sunday.

What is your favorite day of the week and why? Sunday is my favorite, it is a quiet day, what I didn't get done Saturday is left until Monday (my extra day off) so Sunday is not as frenzied, I still have work to do but the urgency isn't there.

Well it use to be Sunday was the day of rest. It's a sportsday sometimes for football fans. It's also a day I cook a big dinner for my grown family. So being of Sicilian decent I will call it Mangiaday (pronunciation is "MAHN-djyah) lol.

I vote for Playday, too! It used to be that Sunday is the day of rest but now people work on that day. I can see that whatever day of rest this 8th day starts off being, it'll end up a regular day anyway.

Still, many people like the convenience of being able to shop whenever we want (thanks to 24-hour supermarkets).

My fave day of the week is a choice between Friday and Saturday, but if I must choose, it would be Friday; Friday, precisely at 3:30 when school is out for the day and the week. I love teaching, but this year is a challenge.....

Hence, the name of a new day of the week of mine...It would come between Friday and Saturday and would be the first day of a 3-day weekend. I'd name it Whio....Weekly Hell Is Over. Okay, so my weeks aren't that bad nor is my class. But, it still sounds good, huh?! ;)

Interesting topic, K.J.! I used to know all this stuff, but "forgot" it, so a refresher is good.

Before I retired my fave day of the week was Thursday. My thinking was that by the time Friday came, the end of the weekend had become. And besides, my favorite sitcom was "Friends" and that aired on Thursdays.

Now, of course, I have many favorite days because I control my own time. Well, sort of, as much as a grandmother can!

I love the trivia. I'm not sure if I'd want to add a day into the week. This reminds me of the tea towels you used to find back in the 50's where it was wash day on Monday iron(whst's thst) on Tuesday and other chores for the rest of the week.

I think it would be nice to have a care day where everyone would spend some time caring for the planet, the people and the animals in their lives. It wouldn't have to be tedious or overly serious stuff just basic awareness.

Petite, you are the winner of the naming contest. I absolutely love the idea of calling it Sunshine. Nothing makes me happier than seeing that sun rising in the sky. Please drop me an email at kimberleyhowe@me.com so I can get your address. Thanks!!!

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Donna MacMeans, Trish Milburn, and Nancy Northcott will all be in Atlanta for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Decatur, Georgia September 30 through October 2nd. If you're in the area, stop by for the booksigning. We'd love to see you.

Redeeming the Rogue by Donna MacMeans received a 4.5 star TOP PICK! review from Romantic Times Magazine.

Living in Color by Trish Milburn is now available on Kindle, Smashwords and at barnesandnoble.com for the Nook.